Once home to a thriving coffee industry, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) saw coffee production and export steadily decline during recent decades of instability and conflict. Now, with international demand for specialty coffee at an all-time high, the country is reviving its coffee sector and starting to regain its place as a leading coffee producer.
Mwape Kabazo, a 35-year-old mother in Mango village, has seen firsthand how quickly a child’s health can turn. When her 4-year-old son, Kisile Lusinga, began to show signs of malnutrition and his health suffered, she held off on seeking care. However, when his health began to deteriorate, she wondered who to turn to.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country the size of Western Europe. It has fewer miles of paved roads than Maryland, and less than 10 percent of its population have access to electricity, which is erratic. Persistent electricity problems in Minova, a town in South Kivu province, meant that the radio station could never be certain whether its news programs would air.
July 2014—In December 2009, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) killed 321 civilians and abducted more than 250, including 80 children, in a massacre in Makambo, an isolated village deep in the forested area of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was one of the worst massacres in the LRA’s 23-year history.
July 2014—Salonga National Park, located in the center of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is home to the endangered bonobo, one of the closest relatives to humans.
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